The Authenticity of Heritage Sites, Tourists’ Quest for Existential Authenticity, and Destination Loyalty

Abstract

The aim of this study was to empirically explore existential authenticity from the perspectives of visitors. Given that existentialism invites people to examine the authenticity of their personal lives and their society, an attempt was made in this study to examine the authenticity of visitors’ personal lives and their environments by conducting an empirical study concerning the Kaiping watchtowers site, a well-known Chinese heritage site. Two dimensions of existential authenticity were examined: intrapersonal and interpersonal authenticity. The results reveal that the authenticity of toured heritage sites and environments may be irrelevant to existential authenticity and that intrapersonal authenticity exerts a substantial influence on destination loyalty. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Places as authentic consumption contexts

“…When place experiences fulfill consumer authenticity expectations, the overall experience should be perceived as having higher value, leading to increased commitment to the place (Lee & Shen, ). The quest for authenticity through travel is not satisfied by a single visit and many destinations experience high proportions of repeat customers (Yi, Lin, Jin, & Luo, ). Sites like the Kaiping Watchtowers in China, Mount Vernon in the United States, and Mont Saint‐Michel in France, see high portions of repeat visitors.…”

“…The quest for authenticity through travel is not satisfied by a single visit and many destinations experience high proportions of repeat customers (Yi, Lin, Jin, & Luo, 2017…”

A Tourist-Based Model of Authenticity of Heritage Sporting Events: The Case of Naadam

“…Aesthetic authenticity, one type of hot authenticity, describes the meaning and value of tourism, which makes tourists search for egos and real personal relationships. In light of this statement, subjectivity and experience are the main characteristics of the spectrum of authenticity [19]. As for the intangible cultural heritage like heritage sporting events, authenticity is largely measured by subjective standards, while objective standards are mainly used to measure material cultural heritage.…”

“…Hu, Tan, and Pan measured the cool authenticity of the cultural tourism of an ancient town by cultural factors and product factors [47,48]. According to their measurement approach, cultural factors are measured by folk performance and traditional ceremony, and product factors are evaluated by local product, traditional food, and tourism souvenirs [18,19].…”

“…Despite the growing interest in event authenticity in the tourism theoretical research field, studies on the formation process of event authenticity are still scarce, which makes it hard for various stakeholders of heritage sporting events to target themselves [14]. Furthermore, quantitative studies and empirical studies are rather scarce, though they are the most valuable way to explore the principles of cultural event authenticity and the relationship between authenticity and tourists' loyalty of festivals and events [15][16][17][18][19]. Although there are some studies investigating the relationship among heritage event authenticity, quality, satisfaction, and loyalty, to the best of the authors' knowledge, little research has concerned the interactive relationship between inner factors of authenticity and other constructs such as satisfaction and loyalty of event-goers.…”